malapropianadj.
/maləˈprɒpɪən/, /maləˈprəʊpɪən/, U.S. /mæləˈprɑpiən/, /mæləˈproʊpiən/ rare.
Of the nature of a malapropism; given to or characterized by malapropisms.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > inaccuracy, inexactness > incorrectness of language > [adjective] > in application of words > with ludicrous effect
slip-slop1766
malaprop1815
malapropian1860
malapropistic1978
1860 ‘G. Eliot’ in J. W. Cross George Eliot's Life (1885) II. 263 Mr. Lewes is sending what a Malapropian friend once called a ‘missile’ to Sara.
1898 Spectator 16 Apr. 539/2 There is a latent shrewdness in his malapropian talk which is quite delightful.
1994 H. Burton Leonard Bernstein i. i. 7 In later years, his humor often became malapropian: he referred to ‘psychosemitic’ illnesses, and insisted on cleaning out ‘cobwebs’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1860